


I'm Not Walking Alone

by hondansadeensommar



Series: Multifandom Hurt/Comfort Oneshots [8]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Back Pain, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, Medication, Pain, Painkillers, caring hyungs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 22:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19282042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hondansadeensommar/pseuds/hondansadeensommar
Summary: “It hurts so bad, hyung… I thought if I could just get up and get moving, I would be able to handle it with some ibuprofen.  But I don’t think I can do it today…”





	I'm Not Walking Alone

“ _Yah_... Wooyoung- _ah_ , it’s time to get up…”

Wooyoung groaned at Yeosang’s words, wishing that he didn’t have to move.But they were in the middle of promotions, and even though they didn’t have any music show performances that day they were still expected to go into the company building to run their latest song and fix a few issues that had come up over the course of the past week so that they would be ready to perform again the next day.They had been allowed to “sleep in” - an eight AM wake-up was always a nice change during promotions - but it still wasn’t enough to make up for the loss of sleep the rest of the week when they were up at three or four in the morning and not getting into bed until eleven or later at night.The fact that they had stayed up the previous night to catch up on episodes of a drama they were all watching together didn’t help, either.

Actually moving sent a shock of pain through Wooyoung’s neck, spreading up the back of his head and down his spine and radiating across his shoulders as well.It was all Wooyoung could do to avoid crying out in pain, and he found himself freezing where he was to avoid making the pain any worse.The pain calmed down when Wooyoung stopped moving, but he knew that it was going to be a long day given the fact that he _had_ to get up and go dance with the rest of his group.“Wooyoung- _ah_ , we’re going to be late…” Yeosang commented, shaking Wooyoung’s mattress.Wooyoung bit down on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out in pain at the sudden movement that he hadn’t been expecting.

“I’m getting up,” Wooyoung replied, when Yeosang stopped shaking the mattress for a moment.He knew that his voice sounded strained, especially when he felt Yeosang run a hand through his hair. 

“Are you okay, Wooyoung- _ah_?” Yeosang asked.

“Headache,” Wooyoung replied, trying to think quickly for an excuse that wouldn’t have his members babying him for the rest of the day.Even if they were all basically the same age, the other guys were always particularly aware of it whenever Wooyoung or Mingi made any comments about being in any kind of pain.While it was nice to know that they cared, Wooyoung didn’t want to risk getting himself pulled from promotions over a stiff neck.“I think I’m just dehydrated… I’ll be fine after breakfast.”

“Do you want some ibuprofen?I can get the bottle from Hongjoong- _hyung_ …” Yeosang began.

“Maybe… yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Wooyoung replied, thankful for an excuse to get Yeosang to leave the room so that he could get himself up without the other man seeing how much pain he was in.

“I’ll be back, okay?I’m sure we can delay leaving a little while longer…” Yeosang began, as the other man left the room quickly.Wooyoung took a deep breath once Yeosang was gone, pushing himself up into a seated position a little faster than was probably advisable under the current circumstances.He couldn’t help the hiss that escaped his lips at the pain, which really did leave him with a headache.

“Wooyoung- _ah_?”Wooyoung opened his eyes slowly, forcing a smile for Hongjoong as he saw the leader kneeling in front of him with an obviously concerned look on his face.“What’s going on, Wooyoung- _ah_?”

“I just have a headache, _hyung_ ,” Wooyoung replied.“I think I just got dehydrated yesterday.I’ll be okay once I get some water and maybe some ibuprofen…”

“Get dressed, okay?I’ll give you something for your headache after you’ve eaten breakfast,” Hongjoong replied, smiling at Wooyoung and reaching out to squeeze his shoulder in an attempt at trying to be comforting.Wooyoung closed his eyes, trying not to wince as the leader’s gesture made the already tense muscles in his neck move and shoot pain across his shoulders again.

Wooyoung was moving much slower than normal as he got up, doing his best to avoid anything that would make his pain any worse than it already was.While small, slow movements kept his pain level manageable, lifting his arms to change shirts was excruciating and Wooyoung wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to actually keep his members from figuring out what was going on.

By the time Wooyoung made it out of the bathroom, everyone else was already ready to go and their manager was looking at his watch impatiently.“We need to get moving…” the manager commented, starting towards the door as soon as Wooyoung was with the rest of the group.

“Here… take this,” Yeosang commented, handing Wooyoung a premade protein shake and a packaged breakfast pastry from their stash in the kitchen, as well as a water bottle.It wasn’t really the type of thing they would typically eat for breakfast, but they bought them for situations when they were running late and just needed something to grab and go.Wooyoung wasn’t sure if he was actually going to be able to eat anything, but he took the food with a forced smile anyway.

“I’ve got the meds in my bag for your headache, too,” Hongjoong added, falling in behind Wooyoung as their manager began shooing everyone out of the door as quickly as possible.“I’ll give you a dose as soon as you’ve finished breakfast.”

“Thanks, _hyung_ ,” Wooyoung replied.

The drive to the company building was torture for Wooyoung; every little bump or jolt sent more pain shooting through Wooyoung’s neck, and he realized very quickly that he couldn’t turn his head at all unless he wanted the pain to intensify again.He could hardly even sip on his bottle of water, because it required him to move his neck too much.Unfortunately, Hongjoong seemed to notice that something was wrong when he turned around to check on Wooyoung shortly before they arrived at the company building.“ _Yah_ … Wooyoung- _ah_ , you need to eat,” the leader commented, reaching out to hold his hand against the side of Wooyoung’s head.“Are you feeling sick, too?I can send you home…”

“I’ll be okay, _hyung_ ,” Wooyoung replied, opening the protein shake and taking a few sips.Hongjoong didn’t seem convinced, but the leader nodded and turned around to face the front of the van again.

Wooyoung couldn’t drink much of the shake; he could only get so much of the drink out of the carton without moving his head, and each time he tried to lean his head back the pain made him feel sick to his stomach.Wooyoung eventually gave up, recapping the shake even though he knew it was less than half empty.He didn’t want to make himself sick in the van, especially given the fact that he wasn’t sure he would be able to lean over the bucket the group kept on hand in case anyone got motion sick.

Arriving at the company building was a relief for Wooyoung, because it meant that he would be able to dispose of the evidence that he hadn’t actually eaten enough to function properly.Unfortunately, Wooyoung lost his balance getting out of the van and the jolt of landing caused so much pain that Wooyoung nearly blacked out.“Whoa!Wooyoung- _ah_!”Wooyoung felt someone grabbing him before he could actually fall to the ground, supporting his weight completely.“ _Hyung_!”

“What happened?”Wooyoung’s vision cleared just in time to see Hongjoong and Seonghwa hurrying back over to the van, moving to help support Wooyoung as he tried to get his footing back.“Wooyoung- _ah_?”

“I’m okay…” Wooyoung began, forcing himself up to his feet and trying not to move his head or neck at all.

“I think he nearly passed out getting out of the van…”Wooyoung could finally place the voice as belonging to Yunho, who still hadn’t let go of Wooyoung’s waist despite the fact that the two eldest members were helping hold him up as well.“We need to get him somewhere to sit down, before he actually passes out on us.”

“Wooyoung- _ah_ , let me carry you, okay?Get on my back,” Seonghwa began.

“I can’t…” Wooyoung admitted, closing his eyes.

“What do you mean, you can’t?” Hongjoong asked softly, moving a hand to the back of Wooyoung’s neck.The gentle pressure of the leader’s hand _hurt_ , and Wooyoung couldn’t really focus.“Wooyoung- _ah_?”

“I slept wrong… I do have a headache, but it’s because all of the muscles in my neck feel like they’re tied up in knots…”Wooyoung trailed off, although he was thankful when Hongjoong immediately removed his hand from the back of his neck.“It hurts so bad, _hyung_ … I thought if I could just get up and get moving, I would be able to handle it with some ibuprofen.But I don’t think I can do it today…”

“Can you walk, Wooyoungie?” Hongjoong asked softly, moving his hand to Wooyoung’s lower back instead.“If we help you, could you make it into the building so we can get a trainer to look at you?”

“Yeah… I can walk,” Wooyoung replied, slowly moving away from Yunho.Seonghwa and Hongjoong each took one of his hands, with their arms around his waist to make sure that _if_ he lost his balance again they would be able to catch him before he could fall.

“I’ll get someone to meet you guys in the training room… take your time, Wooyoung- _ah_ ,” the manager commented, before hurrying off into the building in front of them.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were in pain, Wooyoungie?” Seonghwa asked, as the trio slowly made their way into the company building with the rest of the group not far behind.

“I don’t want to get pulled…” Wooyoung began.

“ _Yah_ … you can’t even move your head.How are you going to dance tomorrow, if your neck is still all tied up in knots?” Hongjoong asked.“We’re going to let one of the trainers look at your neck, and then we’re sending you home to rest if they don’t think you need to go to the hospital.”

 

***

 

Wooyoung felt as though the world was spinning as the manager that had taken him to the emergency room guided him back through the front door of the dorm, supporting most of Wooyoung’s weight because he wasn’t really able to stay upright completely on his own at that point.It was loud inside, obviously indicating that everyone else was already home from rehearsal.“ _Yah_! _Hyungs_ , Wooyoung- _hyung_ is back!” Jongho called as Wooyoung kicked his shoes off near the front door, with the manager continuing to support him so that he didn’t fall.Wooyoung smiled as Jongho took his shoe, putting them away for Wooyoung.“How are you feeling, _hyung_?”

“Tired,” Wooyoung admitted, as Seonghwa and Hongjoong came over to take his arms.“My neck doesn’t hurt much right now, though…”

“He’s pretty heavily medicated, guys… you’ll need to keep an eye on him tonight, and make sure that he rests,” their manager commented.“The company is releasing a statement in a few minutes that he won’t be performing for the time being, per doctor’s orders.We’re also making sure that there’s someone here to take care of him, so that he isn’t left to fend for himself while everyone else is working.”

“What did the doctors say, anyway?” Seonghwa asked.“It isn’t anything serious…?”

“Muscle spasms in his neck from sleeping in a bad position, which triggered a migraine,” the manager replied, letting Seonghwa and Hongjoong take Wooyoung’s arms and stepping back slightly.“There isn’t really much that can be done other than treating the symptoms… I still need to go back and pick up his prescription, but I thought it would be a good idea to bring him home to lay down and rest first.”

“We’ve got him,” Hongjoong replied, smiling at Wooyoung and putting an arm around his waist.“Do you want us to help you like earlier, or are you good?”

“Everything’s spinning…” Wooyoung replied, which made more sense in his head than it likely did to his members.Still, Seonghwa and Hongjoong seemed to get the message, and the two men each took one of his arms and put another arm around his waist and started leading him into their living room.“Can I have honey butter chips, _hyung_?”

“Sure, Wooyoungie,” Seonghwa replied, changing directions to guide him over to the couch rather than the bedroom as originally planned.

“I can get those, too,” the manager added.

“We’ve got some in the kitchen, but thank you,” Hongjoong replied.“If we need anything else, we can send someone down the street to the convenience store.”

“Right… I’ll be back as soon as I can with his medication.If his neck starts hurting, try a heat pack until I can get back,” the manager replied.“He should still be good for a couple of hours, but I don’t know how much longer the prescriptions will take to be ready.”

Wooyoung couldn’t help smiling as Seonghwa and Hongjoong settled him on the couch, putting his feet up and adjusting the couch pillows and a few others that had appeared from various people’s bedrooms to make sure that he was comfortable.“Do you need anything, Wooyoungie?” Seonghwa asked, stroking a hand through Wooyoung’s hair.

“Can I really have the chips, _hyung_?”

“I’ve got them!” Mingi called, hurrying into the living room with a single-serve bag of Wooyoung’s favorite chips.

“Thanks, Gi- _yah_.I’m going to go work on dinner,” Seonghwa commented, heading back into the kitchen.

Wooyoung struggled with the bag of chips, until Hongjoong took them from him and opened the bag before handing it back.“Wooyoungie, we need to talk…” the leader commented, sitting down right next to Wooyoung.“I know you’re pretty drugged up right now.Do you think you can focus for a little while?”

“Am I in trouble, _hyung_?” Wooyoung asked.

“You aren’t, but we do need to talk about what happened today… what if you had been really sick, and you’d kept that from us until it was too late?” Hongjoong asked, reaching out and stroking a hand through his hair.“Not to mention the fact that you could have seriously hurt yourself if you’d tried to dance like that.What if you’d passed out while we were dancing and ended up falling and seriously hurting yourself?”

Wooyoung closed his eyes.“I didn’t think about that…”

“I know you didn’t… that’s why we’re having this conversation,” Hongjoong replied.“You have to be honest with us when you’re in pain, Wooyoungie.That’s true for anyone in the group, but especially for you.You already have problems with your back, and the last thing I want is to see you be out long-term because of something that could be avoided…”

Wooyoung nodded slightly, wincing as he moved his neck a bit too much and the muscles began to protest again.“Are you okay?” Mingi’s voice asked.

“My neck’s still sore,” Wooyoung admitted.“It’s manageable now, but it still hurts a little.”

“Gi- _yah_ , can you go get one of the heat patches for him?” Hongjoong asked.“Manager- _hyung_ said that we can use heat for now, until he can have more of the medication they have him on.

“On it!” Mingi replied, hurrying out of the room.

“I can get it…” Wooyoung began.

“You aren’t allowed to do anything more strenuous than walking to the bathroom right now,” Hongjoong replied, moving his hand to Wooyoung’s tight to keep him on the couch.“You can’t even do that on your own right now, anyway… you said everything was spinning just a few minutes ago, remember?”

“Right…” Wooyoung replied, suddenly realizing that he definitely wasn’t steady enough to be up and moving around on his own considering the fact that things were spinning a bit even as he sat there.

Hongjoong smiled, shaking his head.“They really gave you the good stuff, huh?” the leader asked, as Mingi returned with the heat patch.“Let’s put this on you, okay?It’ll help with the pain until manager- _hyung_ comes back with your medication.”

Wooyoung let Hongjoong and Mingi help him sit up just enough for Mingi to apply the patch to the back of his neck, relaxing almost immediately as the patch began to warm up.“Better?” Mingi asked.

“Yeah…” Wooyoung replied, closing his eyes as the two other men helped him lean back against the pillows again.

“Do you want to go lay down and try to sleep?” Hongjoong asked, running a hand over the heat patch on the back of his neck to make sure it was secure.“It’ll be quieter in your room…”

“But dinner…” Wooyoung began, forcing his eyes open and starting to eat the chips that were still in his hand.“I didn’t really have breakfast, or much lunch…” Wooyoung admitted.He had been in too much pain to eat either of the day’s earlier meals, although he still wasn’t all that hungry.Still, Wooyoung knew that not eating was a bad idea and that he needed more than just the bag of honey butter chips his members had given him.

“Well wake you up, Wooyoungie,” Hongjoong replied.“Come on… let’s take you to lay down for a little while, and I’ll come get you myself when it’s time to eat.”

Actually getting into hisbed took much longer than usual, given the fact that Wooyoung couldn’t keep himself steady for more than a couple of seconds without help.Thankfully, Hongjoong and Mingi were quick to help him down the hall and into his bed, where the leader was careful to make sure Wooyoung’s neck wasn’t going be in worse shape when he woke up.“Get some rest, Wooyoungie.You’ll feel better when you wake up.”


End file.
